Practice Makes Permanent

Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. 1 Timothy 4:7-9

You’ve probably heard the saying before “practice makes permanent.” The truth is that practice makes permanent, not perfect. I once had a coach who was very strict during practice. He would expect that every player to be ten minutes early and be fully prepared to take the field the minute practice started. Each of my teammates knew that if you didn’t want to run extra laps or do numerous pushups, the expectation was you didn’t slack off. It was game speed and nothing else during practice.

Training is of crucial importance to the moment when everything is on the line. You do play exactly how you practice because practice makes permanent. Think about how your spiritual life plays out. Do you spend time each day in prayer or the word? Are you intentional with those around you to have spiritual conversations? Do you have a game plan to grow spiritually? There will come a moment when you are “in the game,” and great spiritual performance is intimately tied to intense practice.